Hi all. I'm new to the programming world, and need to know if there is a difference between the Arduino Uno and Sainsmart Uno. I came across both, and the Sainsmart seems to be cheaper in most places. So I'm wondering if Sainsmart is the same as Arduino, or if it is a knockoff. Thanks in advance for any help.

Arduino. There have been complaints about the Sainsmart products. Arduino's are available in the US, at RadioShack even. Mouser.com also carries them, not far to ship (Texas) to you. $4.99 residential delivery. Good prices on replacement chips when you smoke one.http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=arduinohttp://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Atmel/ATMEGA328P-PU/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujcrAcowhVCzj0vtgCenYitTBfrdeSNJnmn1EI7EVhhFw%3d%3d

Sainsmart: "The biggest warehouse is in China, where most of the products are shipped from."So that's not going to be fast.

The IDE is a good choice for a beginner programmer. Work thru the tutorials in the Learning section of the website, poke around in the Playground.

The last time I checked (earlier this week) Sainsmart was selling a counterfeit board (they claim it to be a genuine Arduino when it is not). I tend to avoid vendors that knowingly and deliberately lie.

Arduino original board is so expensive. I want to purchase one from ebay because the price is much lower. However as the guy above said it must be fake. I bet it must came from China which is the biggest manufacturing country in the world. Then i prefer to choose one with brand even if it came from China for the good price and support.

Arduino original board is so expensive. I want to purchase one from ebay because the price is much lower. However as the guy above said it must be fake. I bet it must came from China which is the biggest manufacturing country in the world. Then i prefer to choose one with brand even if it came from China for the good price and support.

Arduino boards are good deals. Consider also the huge amount of effort that goes into developing and supporting the IDE, this forum, etc. etc. There are also good quality clones available from numerous reputable vendors (Adafruit, Evil Mad Science, PJRC, Modern Device to name just a few).

For the person just getting into microcontrollers, buying the original and supporting the Arduino organization is pretty much a no-brainer. The last thing I'd want when learning is to question whether a problem is mine or is the fault of some hardware of questionable origin.

Once some experience is gained, the Arduino Pro and Pro Mini ($15 and $10 from Sparkfun) are good values, or design your own custom boards. Let us know what it costs you to do that, and don't forget to factor in your time!

Buying a true Arduino does help continue development of the line. Having said that, I have noticed lately that Sain is selling its clones through Amazon, which handles fulfillment -- an important point, as that means Amazon stocks it in their own warehouses and ships it out with quick turnaround. The photo in the listing for their MEGA 2560 clone, found here: http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-MEGA-2560-Board-Arduino/dp/B00761NDCI/ref=pd_sim_pc_2 shows that they use their own brand name and not Arduino.

PJRC and their Teensy line are good, but they are not form-factor compatible. They are much smaller like the Nano.

You are supporting a company that sells a counterfeit board (not the one you referenced). They know it is counterfeit. Every few months, using extremely deceptive techniques, they try to use this forum to advertise. As far as I'm concerned, they are leaches.